The Most Expensive Murder Weapon
by DoctorH
Summary: A Murdoch Mysteries teleplay. A man is found murdered in a manner unusual for the early 20th Century. A prime suspect is quickly identified. Against his lawyer's advice, the suspect cooperates in the investigation, and supplies evidence that further points to him being the killer. Brackenreid is convinced he's the man, but Murdoch isn't. Watch Murdoch solve this mystery!
1. ACT 1

"The Most Expensive Murder Weapon"

ACT I

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF TORONTO CITY STREETS, morning. Most of the traffic on the roadways is from horse-drawn vehicles, but there one or two motorcars about. CUT TO: NARROW ROADWAY, morning. CONSTABLES have blocked off the roadway. MURDOCH walks past one CONSTABLE, who tips his hat and lets MURDOCH enter the scene. In the street is the body of a man, who will later be known as Rupert. The body is face-down. A piece of twisted metal lies a short distance from the body. A PHOTOGRAPHER is recording the scene. CRABTREE is observing the scene and making notes. CRABTREE notices the approach of MURDOCH. MURDOCH crosses himself as he assesses the situation. MURDOCH is about to ask CRABTREE for a report, but CRABTREE speaks first.)

CRABTREE  
Sir: This man's body was found, as you see him, shortly after sunrise. A gentleman passing by happened to notice the body, and after checking the body for a pulse, telephoned the police. Other than checking the body for signs of life, the scene has not been disturbed.

MURDOCH  
The body is in the street. Possibly struck by a vehicle: a carriage or a wagon.

CRABTREE  
Or a motorcar.

(CRABTREE directs MURDOCH's attention to the twisted piece of metal.)

CRABTREE  
It is possible that the metal object there is from a motorcar, and it was dislodged by the collision with the victim.

(MURDOCH crouches to examine the metal, but does not touch it.)

MURDOCH  
I agree with you, George, that this object seems to be from a motorcar, rather than from another kind of vehicle.

(MURDOCH stands.)

MURDOCH  
Be sure to collect that object as evidence, and have it checked for finger marks.

CRABTREE (making a note in his notebook)  
Of course, sir. If I may direct your attention to something else, sir?

(CRABTREE guides MURDOCH toward the body. CRABTREE crouches, and MURDOCH follows suit. MURDOCH smells something.)

MURDOCH  
Alcohol! This man may have been intoxicated.

CRABTREE  
That was my thought as well, sir. The victim may have been too affected by alcohol to realize that he was in the street, or that a vehicle was approaching and that he was in danger of being struck. The collision may have been an accident, sir.

MURDOCH  
Perhaps, but there still appears to be a crime committed here. If a driver of any vehicle, whether motorcar or carriage, strikes a pedestrian, even if done innocently and excusably, that driver must stop and render aid to the injured person. The driver cannot leave the scene; the driver cannot drive on and leave the injured person in the street.

CRABTREE  
We have heard from many people operating wagons and carriages, who had struck people with their vehicles, that they drove on because they were unaware that they had hit a person. Perhaps that is what happened here.

MURDOCH  
Well, whoever was involved with this collision now has a vehicle that is damaged and needs to be repaired. If we find that damaged vehicle, we may find the driver as well.

(CUT TO: EXTERIOR CITY MORGUE, afternoon. CUT TO: INTERIOR CITY MORGUE. MONTAGE featuring mostly OGDEN and JAMES, showing: a body coming in; the body being stripped; CRABTREE inking the body's hands and recording finger marks; a small piece of jagged metal snagged on the victim's jacket; the body being examined; notes being taken; a view of trauma on the victim's back/hip; the body being turned. MONTAGE ends. The nude body of Rupert is on the table, face down, a cloth strategically covering the body for modesty. OGDEN is making a few notes when MURDOCH and CRABTREE enter. JAMES is attending to other duties. OGDEN notices their entry and stops making notes. MURDOCH smiles.)

OGDEN  
Ah, William. George. Have you been able to confirm the identity of the man whom you brought in this morning?

MURDOCH  
We have. His finger marks match those of Andrew Rupert. Age 33.

OGDEN (writing a note)  
Andrew. Rupert, R-U-P-E-R-T. Age 33. Well. I am going to classify the death of Mr. Andrew Rupert as homicide, that is, non-accidental.

MURDOCH  
Oh?

(OGDEN points to the body as she details her re-creation of events.)

OGDEN  
The progression of injuries seems fairly clear. Mr. Rupert was struck by a vehicle here, causing trauma to his back. This would have knocked him to the ground. The vehicle then drove over his lower back, causing a broken back and severe internal injuries, which likely would have been fatal.

MURDOCH  
And— how does that indicate that the death was non-accidental?

OGDEN  
It doesn't. That is, it wouldn't, if those were the only injuries. Mr. Rupert was driven over a second time. The second time the vehicle drove over his neck. This broke his neck and almost certainly killed him at once.

MURDOCH  
Can you be certain that he was driven over a second time, not merely driven over by two sets of wheels on a vehicle?

OGDEN  
Yes, I think so. First, the distance between the trauma to the lower back and the trauma to the neck is about two-and-a-half feet. The wheels of carriages, wagons and motorcars are set apart by more than two-and-a-half feet, aren't they?

MURDOCH  
I believe so.

CRABTREE  
There may be some three-wheeled motorcars having one wheel offset from the others by about two-and-a-half feet. But I am not certain.

OGDEN  
Oh. But there is also this. The path across the lower back is at a modest angle, more than thirty degrees, compared to, say, the waistband of the victim's trousers. But the path across the neck is straight across, with no comparable angle.

MURDOCH  
Meaning the paths of the wheels across the victim's body were not parallel.

OGDEN  
Correct.

MURDOCH  
That suggests that someone hit Mr. Rupert with a vehicle and ran over him, then backed up or turned around, and ran over him again.

OGDEN  
That is what the evidence says to me, yes.

MURDOCH  
Which means this was not an accident, and was probably a murder.

(OGDEN picks up the piece of metal, and hands it to MURDOCH.)

OGDEN  
One more thing: this piece of metal was snagged on Mr. Rupert's clothing. It may have come from the vehicle that struck him.

(MURDOCH takes the metal piece and examines it. Part of it has a distinctive decorative ridge, over which MURDOCH rubs his finger. CUT TO: ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF A TORONTO CITY STREET, late afternoon. One of the buildings is a rooming house. CUT TO: INTERIOR OF A ROOM in the rooming house. CRABTREE and HIGGINS are searching the room and cataloging what they find; they are essentially finished with the job. There isn't much furniture in the room, just a bed and a chest with a mirror. On the bed is a blanket or duvet with a distinctive pattern, and on top of that is a camera. Clothes and a general mess are about. There is a closet in one corner of the room, and the closet door is open. The door from the hallways to the room is open also, and a CONSTABLE and a LANDLADY observe the search. MURDOCH appears and the CONSTABLE lets MURDOCH enter the room. CRABTREE and HIGGINS face MURDOCH.)

MURDOCH  
What have you, George, Henry?

CRABTREE  
Very little, I'm afraid. Mr. Rupert did not seem to be a very wealthy man. He had a few clothes and some modest possessions, the most valuable of which seems to be this camera, which he stored in his closet.

MURDOCH  
Hmm. There seem to be no facilities in this room for developing photographs.

(HIGGINS produces a key on a string.)

HIGGINS  
We found this, sir; it was hanging inside the closet.

CRABTREE  
It was hanging in a place in which it would be unlikely to be noticed, sir.

HIGGINS (somewhat proudly)  
But I noticed it all the same, sir.

CRABTREE  
He did, sir.

(MURDOCH takes the string with the key.)

MURDOCH  
Well done, Henry. A key. It does not appear to be a key to this room. Possibly it is a key to a photograph-developing room? Or perhaps— it is for something else. Is there anything in this room that might take a key, such as a trunk or a safe?

CRABTREE  
No, sir.

HIGGINS  
I think it's a bank key, sir.

(MURDOCH examines the key.)

MURDOCH  
You may be right, Henry. This could be a key to a deposit box at a bank. Curious. What could a man with so little wealth possibly want to keep secure in a bank?

(The key dangles from MURDOCH's hand. FADE OUT.)


	2. ACT 2

ACT II

(FADE IN. EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, next morning. CUT TO: INTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID sits while MURDOCH stands. BRACKENREID is talking on the telephone.)

BRACKENREID (impatient, trying to sound sincere)  
Charlie, I AM giving it to you straight. We don't know anything yet. (pause) I'll give you a full briefing this afternoon, tomorrow at the very latest. (pause) Well, that's the best I can do. Have I ever lied to you, Charlie? (pause, then irritated) Yes, but OTHER than that one time, have I ever lied to you? (pause) I'll telephone you later. Good-bye.

(BRACKENREID hangs up.)

BRACKENREID  
(grumbling) Bloody newspaper reporter heard we found a body we in the street yesterday, and he wants details. Had to tell him that we didn't have anything yet: no name, no suspects, not even sure if the death is a homicide. (sighs) So, what've we got? Rupert, a drunkard who lives in a dingy room, gets run down by someone in a motorcar. In other words, someone who is very rich drives a motorcar over someone who is very poor.

MURDOCH  
With the apparent intent of killing the poor man.

BRACKENREID  
And succeeding in killing him. So, did this Rupert have any enemies wealthy enough to own a horseless carriage?

MURDOCH  
George Crabtree is checking into that now. And Constables Higgins and Jackson are checking into whether any motorcar repair services have had to repair damage to a front-end collision. So far, we have not found any motorcars that could have been involved. We have at least two pieces of metal that seem to come from a motorcar. If we can find the motorcar that has lost those pieces, then we may be able to find who was responsible.

BRACKENREID  
We have no witnesses, then?

MURDOCH  
No eyewitnesses, no.

BRACKENREID  
What about the key, supposedly to a bank box?

MURDOCH  
The closest bank to Mr. Rupert's rooming house is the Fiduciary Bank, so I guessed this might be the bank in question, and went there first. This guess turned out to be correct. The manager of the Fiduciary Bank admitted that the key is for a storage box at the Fiduciary Bank, but the manager refused to allow us to open the box—

BRACKENREID (finishing the sentence)  
— Until all the official paperwork is in order. Bloody bankers.

MURDOCH  
And I am in the process of securing the requested documents and warrants.

BRACKENREID  
Right. The case doesn't sound like much so far. But you've still got a couple of leads. Follow 'em and see where they go.

(CUT TO: EXTERIOR FIDUCIARY BANK, daytime. A sign on the front of the building identifies the premises. CUT TO: INTERIOR FIDUCIARY BANK, BANKER'S OFFICE. The office is large and impressive, befitting of a banker, with an impressive desk. DWYER sits behind the desk, reviewing papers, while MURDOCH sits in front of the desk, and CRABTREE stands behind MURDOCH.)

DWYER (looking over the documents)  
Yes. Yes. Yes. Everything appears to be in order, Detective. Well. (rising) Will you come with me, please?

(MURDOCH rises. MURDOCH and CRABTREE follow DWYER out of the office. CUT TO: A PRIVATE AREA in the bank. There is a table and chairs in the private area but not much else. DWYER shows MURDOCH and CRABTREE into the private area.)

DWYER  
May I have the key, please?

(MURDOCH gives DWYER the key.)

DWYER  
If you gentlemen will be so kind as to wait here for a few moments. I shall return presently.

(DWYER leaves. MURDOCH and CRABTREE have nothing to do but sit down, look around at the private area and look at each other. MURDOCH and CRABTREE do not have to wait long. Within seconds, DWYER returns, carrying a metal box and the key, both of which he sets on the table.)

DWYER  
When you gentlemen are done, please ring that bell by the doorway, would you?

MURDOCH  
We will. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Dwyer.

DWYER  
You're welcome. Always happy to help the police.

(MURDOCH rolls his eyes at that remark.)

DWYER  
Good day, gentlemen.

(DWYER leaves. CRABTREE makes sure DWYER is gone, and then turns to MURDOCH. MURDOCH opens the box. Immediately apparent are several wrapped stacks of paper currency. There is also a partial stack with a string or elastic around it. There is also, at the bottom of the box, a sizable, thick envelope. MURDOCH extracts the currency and puts it on the table. MURDOCH and CRABTREE are shocked by how much money is there.)

MURDOCH  
Apparently Mr. Rupert was not quite as poor as we thought. There are several thousand dollars here!

CRABTREE watches MURDOCH pull out stack after stack of bills.)

CRABTREE  
Oh, my goodness.

(MURDOCH stops pulling out money, and extracts the thick envelope. MURDOCH opens the envelope and extracts the contents. The contents at first appear to be a stack of papers. The top paper appears to be a handwritten letter.)

MURDOCH  
A letter—

(MURDOCH spreads the documents, and it becomes apparent that only the top document is a letter. The others are photographs.)

MURDOCH  
— And photographs.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE examine the photographs. It becomes apparent that the pictures are photographs of other, original, photographs. Each original photograph was apparently laid on Rupert's bed—identifiable from the distinctive pattern of the bed cover— and then photographed. Each of the original photographs shows a man, who will later be identified as HOLT, in the presence of one or more attractive women. Although some of the photos show HOLT and his women in public, quite a few of the shots appear to have been taken through windows to capture more intimate and more private moments. Some of these photos are better quality than others, and some are racier than others.)

MURDOCH  
The same man appears in all of these pictures. And I recognize him. Do you recognize him, George?

CRABTREE  
Yes, I believe I do. That appears to me to be Jacob Francis Holt, the industrialist.

MURDOCH  
I agree. That is Jacob Francis Holt. And I suspect, George, that none of the women in these pictures is Mrs. Holt.

CRABTREE  
So— Rupert was blackmailing Holt? Rupert was threatening to expose Holt as a philanderer?

MURDOCH  
It appears that way. And this money may be the fruit of that endeavour.

(MURDOCH picks up the handwritten letter.)

MURDOCH (reading aloud)  
"To who it may concern. This is Andrew Rupert speaking. If you are reading this, I hope you are police. If you are not police, please" — the word "please" is underlined three times— "please call the police, because I have almost certainly been murdered, by Jacob Holt or on his orders."

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE are moderately stunned. CUT TO: EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR. CUT TO: INTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID sits while MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand. MURDOCH holds the letter. CRABTREE holds the photographs.)

MURDOCH  
Mr. Rupert further goes on to admit that he is a blackmailer, and that Jacob Holt had been making monthly payments to him to keep him quiet. According to the letter, about two months ago, Mr. Holt made an offer: Mr. Holt would pay Mr. Rupert ten thousand dollars in one lump sum. In exchange, Mr. Rupert would make no more demands for payment, and would turn over to Mr. Holt all photographs and all film and all plates of all, uh, scandalous photographs.

BRACKENREID  
And Rupert agreed to the deal?

MURDOCH  
According to this letter, he did. But before he turned over the original photographs and film or plates, he laid out each photograph on his bed, and took a photograph of the photograph.

CRABTREE (showing a photo)  
As you can see, sir, this picture shows the original photograph, and this border around it is the cover on Mr. Rupert's bed, which has a unique design.

MURDOCH  
In other words, Mr. Rupert gave Mr. Holt what Mr. Holt asked for, but he made crude copies of the pictures first. And the cash that we found next to these photographs was nearly ten thousand dollars: nine thousand seven hundred twenty dollars, to be exact.

BRACKENREID  
Which I'm sure you've secured? That much cash might pose a temptation.

MURDOCH  
We have inventoried the cash and secured it, yes.

BRACKENREID  
So, if I've got things straight, Rupert was blackmailing Holt. Holt paid ten thousand dollars to Rupert for all of his damning evidence and Rupert gave it to Holt after keeping copies for himself; copies that Holt wouldn't know about.

MURDOCH  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
So, from Holt's point of view, Rupert can't blackmail Holt with the photographs anymore. BUT— whether Rupert has the damning photographs or not, Rupert still might talk.

MURDOCH  
Which was likely a legitimate concern. In fact, there is a passage in this letter indicating that Mr. Rupert was considering threatening Mr. Holt with talking to reporters, and commencing the blackmail again; and that he even indicated that possibility to Mr. Holt; but Mr. Rupert also says he did not actually carry out the threat, he did not talk to any reporters.

BRACKENREID  
But the threat was there. And Holt kills Rupert so that Rupert is no longer a threat.

MURDOCH  
That seems to be the way the evidence points.

BRACKENREID  
Let's get Holt in here for questioning. See if he'll come voluntarily, Murdoch. That may reduce the chances that he'll want to bring a lawyer with him. (under his breath) Bloody lawyers. (in normal voice) But if he won't come voluntarily, arrest him.

MURDOCH  
Yes, sir.

(There is a knock on the door, and when BRACKENREID looks up, HIGGINS opens the door.)

HIGGINS  
(to BRACKENREID) Begging your pardon, sir. (to MURDOCH) Jackson and I think we may have found the motorcar! We have received a message by telephone of a motorcar with substantial damage to its front end being brought into a repair shop owned by a Mr. Easterbrook.

(MURDOCH is surprised, though pleased, and becomes animated. MURDOCH rises, with apparent intent of going to examine the motorcar.)

MURDOCH  
Excellent, news, Henry! Did you learn the name of the motorcar's owner?

HIGGINS  
I did; the vehicle is owned by a Mister Holt, sir. He lives on an estate west of here.

BRACKENREID  
Holt! There's our prime suspect!

MURDOCH  
Let's go to the repair shop at once. Be sure to get a photographer down there to make a photographic record of the damage. You have the address of the shop, I presume?

HIGGINS (uncomfortably)  
That I do, sir, but according to the person who telephoned us, the motorcar is in the process of being repaired as we speak.

BRACKENREID  
You should have told them to stop at once, Higgins!

HIGGINS  
I did, sir! But I was told that the damaged parts had already been removed and repairs were underway. I also asked whether the removed parts could be preserved for our examination—

MURDOCH  
Good thinking, Henry!

HIGGINS (sourly)  
— But I was told that the damaged parts had been thrown in with scrap.

BRACKENREID  
That Holt moves pretty fast, doesn't he? — Destroying evidence before we get a chance to look at it.

(MURDOCH is frustrated that evidence has been ruined, but there is little he can do. CUT TO: EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, afternoon. CUT TO: INTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, INTERROGATION ROOM. In the hot seat is HOLT, and next to him is a well-dressed lawyer, ROLFE. Across from HOLT and ROLFE are MURDOCH and BRACKENREID. In front of MURDOCH and BRACKENREID are the damning photographs, hidden from view inside a folder. CRABTREE sits further back, taking notes. As will become clear, ROLFE and BRACKENREID do not like one another, and both men are stern.)

MURDOCH  
Thank you for coming, Mr. Holt.

HOLT (unhappily)  
Of course.

MURDOCH  
Do you know Andrew Rupert, Mr. Holt?

(HOLT is extremely surprised. ROLFE sees this and comes to his aid.)

ROLFE (to HOLT)  
You do not need to answer that.

HOLT (stammering)  
On the advice of my lawyer, and with respect, I would rather not answer that question.

MURDOCH  
Had Andrew Rupert been blackmailing you, Mr. Holt?

(HOLT is again surprised. ROLFE becomes testy.)

ROLFE  
(to HOLT) You do not need to answer that. (to MURDOCH) Detective, you should know better than to ask a question like that!

(BRACKENREID scowls.)

HOLT (stammering, trying to sound dignified)  
With respect, I would rather not answer your question.

(MURDOCH and BRACKENREID exchange looks. Unobtrusively, BRACKENREID puts a hand on the folder and slides it toward himself.)

BRACKENREID (playing it cool)  
Following your lawyer's advice not to cooperate, are you? That's a pity. Looks like we all wasted our time having you come down to the station house, then. We thought you'd like to clear a few things up, quietly, in a civilized matter, like gentlemen. But I can see now you'd rather make a mess of it. Well, that's fine with us.

ROLFE  
What is that supposed to mean? It sounds like a threat.

BRACKENREID (coolly)  
It's not a threat. I mean, if you don't want to cooperate, then we may have to lay formal charges. The formal charges, by the way, would be for the murder of Andrew Rupert.

(HOLT is shocked, even more than before, and puts his hand to his chest; ROLFE puts a hand on HOLT's shoulder to steady HOLT.)

BRACKENREID (coolly)  
Which means that pictures like these—

(BRACKENREID pulls a photo from the folder and slides it toward HOLT. HOLT is thunderstruck, and ROLFE goes wide-eyed. HOLT looks like he might have a heart attack.)

BRACKENREID  
— Would have to be evidence in a public trial, and would therefore be available to the public—

ROLFE  
This is outrageous!

(BRACKENREID slides another photograph toward HOLT. HOLT's anguish increases.)

BRACKENREID  
Want to see another? I've got plenty.

ROLFE  
I can't believe it! The police are blackmailing an upstanding citizen who came to talk to them voluntarily! I'm going to speak to the mayor! I'm going to take this up with my friends in Parliament! This is an outrage!

(BRACKENREID slides another photograph toward HOLT. HOLT has had enough, and shakes off his anguish.)

HOLT (firmly, without stammer)  
I'll answer your questions!

(ROLFE tries to interfere, to get a word in HOLT's ear.)

HOLT  
(to ROLFE) No! (to MURDOCH and BRACKENREID) I knew Rupert, yes! He was blackmailing me, yes! I don't know where you got these pictures, but these are the pictures he was using to blackmail me. I did not kill him! In fact, until a few moments ago, I did not know he was dead!

ROLFE  
This interview is over!

(BRACKENREID casually slides another photo over to HOLT, who sees it's one of the most scandalous.)

BRACKENREID  
As you wish. Looks like the interview's concluded, Murdoch.

HOLT (to everyone, especially ROLFE)  
My lawyer only advises me! And it is up to ME whether to take that advice or not! And I say, this interview is NOT over, not yet! What questions do you have for me?

(HOLT assembles the photographs and slides them back to BRACKENREID. BRACKENREID collects the photographs. HOLT puts one hand to his forehead, as if to wipe away some sweat, and another hand on his chest.)

HOLT (forcedly calm)  
I am an innocent man. So I ought to have nothing to fear. So, ask your questions, Detective.

MURDOCH  
Where were you last Monday night, early Tuesday morning?

HOLT (after thinking a bit)  
Home. In bed.

BRACKENREID  
It took you a while to answer that rather simple question.

HOLT (with grit teeth)  
I wanted to be certain in my own mind. And I am. I was at home. I was in bed. At some point, I was asleep.

MURDOCH  
Are there any witnesses who could corroborate your whereabouts at that time?

HOLT  
No.

MURDOCH  
Your wife?

HOLT  
My wife is in Europe right now.

MURDOCH  
Your servants?

HOLT  
I don't have any "servants."

MURDOCH  
Anyone?

HOLT  
No one.

MURDOCH  
You own a motorcar.

(HOLT takes a moment, as he realizes something.)

HOLT  
Yes, a modified Packard. It was specially modified to my taste. (curious) Was Rupert struck by a motorcar?

MURDOCH (ignoring HOLT's questions)  
Your motorcar was recently damaged, apparently in a collision, was it not?

(HOLT puts two and two together, and is extremely distressed again.)

HOLT  
It was damaged, yes, but I don't know how. I noticed the damage and took the motorcar to Easterbrook's for repair.

BRACKENREID  
That's suspicious as hell. Your motorcar is damaged, and you think nothing of it. The motorcar must have damaged itself, eh?

ROLFE (angry)  
Inspector—

BRACKENREID  
(to ROLFE) I'm asking your client a question, not you. (to HOLT) How did you think your motorcar got damaged?

HOLT (with difficulty)  
I hit a mongrel in the street once, and had to have some repair work done. I just assumed I'd done the same thing again, hit an animal and— (awkwardly) not— noticed.

(BRACKENREID looks like he wants to pursue the issue, but MURDOCH with a gesture asks BRACKENREID to back off. HOLT puts his hand on his chest. MURDOCH reaches down, presumably to a container near his feet, and produces two pieces of gnarled metal.)

MURDOCH  
(showing one piece) Mr. Holt, this piece of metal was found in the street near the body of Mr. Rupert. (showing the other piece) And this piece of metal was found snagged to Mr. Rupert's clothing. Could these pieces of metal have come from your motorcar?

(HOLT is visibly shaken by this evidence, which he does not closely examine. ROLFE notices HOLT's discomfort and comes to his client's rescue.)

ROLFE (before HOLT can answer)  
Don't guess, Mr. Holt. If you know, tell them so; otherwise tell them you don't know.

HOLT (blankly)  
I don't know.

BRACKENREID (leaning toward ROLFE, icily)  
Nice coaching. Don't do it again. If you tell your client what to say one more time, you and I will have words, and you won't like it.

(ROLFE fumes. MURDOCH tries to get the questioning back on track.)

MURDOCH (to HOLT)  
When did you last drive the motorcar?

HOLT  
Early this morning. I immediately telephoned Adam Easterbrook and took it to his establishment for immediate repair.

MURDOCH  
You drove it there yourself?

HOLT  
Yes. Adam agreed that it appeared I may have hit an animal. I instructed Adam to repair the damage right away.

MURDOCH  
When did you drive the motorcar before taking it to the Easterbrook shop?

HOLT (after thinking a bit)  
Sunday morning. To church.

MURDOCH  
Did you operate the motorcar later on Sunday?

HOLT (confidently)  
No.

MURDOCH  
Did you operate the motorcar on Monday at any time?

HOLT (confidently)  
No.

MURDOCH  
Other than yourself, who operates the motorcar?

HOLT (after thinking a bit)  
My two personal assistants, Steven Scott and Edward Walton, have driven it from time to time. They are familiar with how the operating mechanisms work. (with certainty) But it could not have been my motorcar that was involved with Rupert's death! My motorcar includes a special lock for the controls, and neither Steven nor Edward has a key. The only one with a key is me.

(HOLT begins searching his pockets for a key, then remembers.)

HOLT  
I don't have my key right now. Adam Easterbrook has it.

MURDOCH  
Did Mr. Scott or Mr. Walton operate your motorcar on Sunday or Monday?

HOLT (with certainty)  
No. Not on either day. Talk to them, if you like; they'll confirm what I just said. (reasonably) If you will let me use one of your station house's telephones, I will telephone them myself and instruct them to cooperate fully with the police; and I will even let you hear me tell them so. I will not tell them what to say, only that they should cooperate.

MURDOCH  
Thank you for that offer. When did Mr. Rupert begin blackmailing you?

HOLT (sadly and with difficulty)  
I don't remember, exactly. It was years ago. He used to demand just a few dollars. Then he started demanding more, then more.

MURDOCH  
And you paid.

HOLT (explosively)  
How could I not?! (gesturing at the photos) You've seen the pictures, you know what they show! If the newspapers ever got hold of them, or if my wife ever got hold of them—

(HOLT collects himself. Once again, he places his hand on his chest.)

HOLT  
— I'd be ruined. My wife would have grounds to divorce me and bankrupt me. I'd lose my business, all of it. I'd lose my reputation. If those pictures became public, I'd have nothing.

MURDOCH  
Yes, I understand.

HOLT  
I don't think you do understand! My life would be in the gutter, but it wouldn't just be my life. If I lose my business, then all of the people who have loyally worked for me all these years would lose their jobs, their livelihoods. Release of those pictures would destroy me, yes; but it would destroy a lot of innocent people as well.

BRACKENREID (sarcastic)  
So you paid off a scurvy little blackmailer so that all of these fine, innocent people could keep their jobs, eh? You are quite the humanitarian.

(HOLT puts his hand on his chest.)

HOLT (abruptly)  
Can we adjourn for the day? I promise to make myself available for questioning tomorrow. Right now, I don't feel very well.

BRACKENREID  
I'll bet you don't. But you know what's good for what ails you? Sitting down with your lawyer and going over the answers to the questions you think the police will be asking the next day.

ROLFE (angry)  
Now, just a minute—!

BRACKENREID (rising)  
We're done for the day. (to HOLT, pointing at HOLT's face) But we'll talk again.

(FADE OUT.)


	3. ACT 3

ACT III

(FADE IN. EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, daytime. CUT TO: BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID sits in his chair, fuming. MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand.)

BRACKENREID  
That rich bastard thinks he can get away with murder. He drives over his blackmailer, thinking that, by killing that little twerp, his worries are over. He gets some damage to his motorcar, but has it fixed tout suite, to destroy the evidence against him. And now he has his rat-face lawyer protecting him.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Holt's subsequent handling of the vehicle, and the handling by the repair people, have made finger mark evidence unavailable.

CRABTREE  
Mr. Holt's own statement is that no one drove the vehicle, except him.

MURDOCH (correcting)  
Mr. Holt did mention that there were two other men who had driven the vehicle.

CRABTREE (checking his notes)  
Yes, a Mr. Steven Scott and Mr. Edward Walton, but neither used the motorcar on Sunday or Monday, according to Mr. Holt.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Holt was true to his word: before he left the station house, he did telephone those men and instruct them to cooperate; and he did not suggest to them what to say, other than to tell the truth. So, let's go talk to them, George.

(CUT TO: EXTERIOR OF A NICE HOME, afternoon. The home is not exceptionally large, but obviously a wealthy man lives there. CUT TO: INTERIOR OF THE NICE HOME, a sitting room. SCOTT and WALTON sit in two chairs side-by-side, MURDOCH and CRABTREE sit side-by-side opposite them.)

MURDOCH  
May I ask, in what capacity are the two of you employed?

SCOTT  
I am a Personal Assistant.

WALTON  
We both are.

SCOTT  
And what a Personal Assistant does is, well, hard to describe. We do what Mr. Holt needs us to do. We supervise his calendar, arrange his travel, handle some finances—

WALTON (continuing)  
— Deliver documents, take notes, sometimes deal with the telephone, get food—

SCOTT  
Pretty much whatever Mr. Holt wants us to do, we do. And sometimes, we have to anticipate what he would want us to do, and do it without him asking.

WALTON (agreeing)  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
Both of you know how to operate Mr. Holt's motorcar, is that right?

SCOTT and WALTON  
Yes.

SCOTT  
But we only do so at the express direction of Mr. Holt. He often prefers to drive his motorcar himself.

WALTON  
And he prefers to hold the only key that can unlock the controls.

MURDOCH  
Do the two of you work at the same time?

SCOTT  
Usually, no. I usually work on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; Edward usually works on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On busy days, we both work. (nervously laughing) We don't complain; we get well-paid.

MURDOCH  
No one takes Sundays?

SCOTT  
Mr. Holt does not work on Sundays. He's very religious.

MURDOCH  
So, last Monday and Tuesday, Mr. Walton, you were the one "on duty," as it were?

WALTON  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
Did you operate the motorcar last Monday or Tuesday?

WALTON  
No.

MURDOCH  
When was the last time you operated the motorcar?

WALTON  
I don't remember. About two weeks ago, I think.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Scott, when was the last time YOU operated the motorcar?

SCOTT  
I don't remember. Maybe— (unsure) three weeks ago?

MURDOCH  
And Mr. Holt, where does he keep the key that can unlock the motorcar's controls?

(SCOTT and WALTON exchange looks.)

SCOTT  
I suppose we just ought to show you.

(CUT TO: ANOTHER PART OF THE HOUSE, which may be close to where they were, previously. MURDOCH, CRABTREE, SCOTT and WALTON stand near a wall sculpture, that is, a piece of ugly art mounted on a wall.)

WALTON  
When he tells me he needs me to take the motorcar anywhere, he gives the key to me personally, if he can. But many times, he's not able to give the key to me directly, so he leaves the key here (pointing to a place on the mounted art). When I return the motorcar, I place the key back here.

MURDOCH  
This brings to mind two questions: the first is, where does Mr. Holt store the key when it ISN'T here (pointing to the same place on the mounted art)?

(SCOTT shrugs.)

WALTON  
I don't know. I think you'd have to ask him.

MURDOCH  
All right, I will do that. But my second question is: Does anyone else, besides the two of you and Mr. Holt, know that the key is sometimes placed here (pointing), temporarily?

WALTON  
I don't know.

SCOTT  
Could be. I mean, we don't tell anybody, but I don't think it's exactly a secret, either. Quite a few other people work for Mr. Holt and come to the house; they may have seen the key there, or seen us take the key from there.

MURDOCH  
Before we go, Constable Crabtree will get from you a list of people who may have (pointing) had access to the key; but I want to ask you both something important.

(WALTON and SCOTT are all ears.)

MURDOCH  
Do either of you know a man named Andrew Rupert?

(SCOTT shrugs and says nothing. WALTON becomes uneasy.)

WALTON (slowly)  
Yes, I know him. I mean, I know who he is. I mean, I know who he was.

MURDOCH  
And how did you know of Mr. Rupert?

WALTON (uneasily)  
I made deliveries to him on behalf of Mr. Holt.

MURDOCH  
Deliveries?

WALTON  
Cash payments. I delivered the money that Mr. Holt was paying to Rupert.

SCOTT (surprised)  
Edward? Payments?

WALTON  
Yes. Rupert wanted money from Mr. Holt, in exchange for silence. I was the person who delivered the money.

SCOTT (stunned)  
Mr. Holt was being blackmailed?

WALTON  
Yes, Steven, he was.

SCOTT (disbelieving)  
Good heavens.

WALTON  
And I am also the person who made the final payment to Rupert, in exchange for certain items, which I delivered to Mr. Holt.

SCOTT (still stunned)  
"Certain items"?

WALTON  
Later, Steven.

(CUT TO: EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, early evening. CUT TO: MURDOCH'S OFFICE. On the blackboard are the names of a dozen people. The top of the list is "HOLT" and just below are "WALTON" and "SCOTT." The names of nine others are listed below that. Atop the list are criteria: "Access to key"; "Operated Motorcar"; "Knew Rupert" and "Motive." Holt has four ticks next to his name, one under each criterion. Walton has three ticks, Scott two ticks, and everyone else one tick each. MURDOCH, BRACKENREID and CRABTREE all stand.)

MURDOCH  
All of these people had access to the key that would allow them to operate the motorcar that we believe caused the death of Mr. Rupert. The top three people here, we know, actually have operated that motorcar.

BRACKENREID  
And only the top two people, Holt and Walton, knew who Rupert was, knew what he looked like. And only the man on top, Holt, had any motive to kill Rupert.

MURDOCH  
The only person with a KNOWN motive was Mr. Holt.

CRABTREE  
Even without consideration of motive, can we not eliminate most of the people on this list?

(CRABTREE points to a name way down on the list.)

CRABTREE  
Take Mr. Pyne, there. Assuming that Mr. Pyne was able to operate a motorcar, and he knew Mr. Rupert, and he had some sort of motive for killing Mr. Rupert, how could Mr. Pyne get the key?

MURDOCH  
He couldn't. But Mr. Pyne, or any of these other people, may have been able to borrow the key from the temporary hiding place, and then copy the key or make a wax impression of it.

BRACKENREID  
If somebody copied the key, that would be a hard thing to prove. Anyone who reads tomorrow's newspaper will know that the Constabulary is investigating Rupert's death as a homicide, and that key would be a very incriminating piece of evidence. If a copy of the key had been made, the guilty party would certainly destroy or discard it.

MURDOCH (agreeing)  
In answer to your question, George, we should not strike any of these names as suspects just yet.

BRACKENREID  
How about alibis? We know Holt doesn't have one that anyone else can testify to. How about the others?

MURDOCH  
Mr. Scott claims to have been sleeping, but has no one to verify this. Mr. Walton claims he was with friends that evening, but we have not been able to verify his story, yet.

BRACKENREID  
If Walton's alibi holds up, it might mean that the only one for whom everything fits is Holt.

(CUT TO: EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, the next morning. CUT TO: INTERROGATION ROOM. In the hot seat is HOLT, and next to him is ROLFE. Across from HOLT and ROLFE are MURDOCH and BRACKENREID. CRABTREE is absent.)

BRACKENREID  
When we last talked, Mr. Holt, you were feeling ill. I hope you are feeling better today.

ROLFE  
We can do without sarcasm and veiled insults, Inspector.

BRACKENREID  
(to ROLFE) I beg your pardon, but I was speaking to your client, not to you; and I was expressing my sincere hope that he was feeling better today.

HOLT  
I am better today, Inspector, thank you.

MURDOCH  
Thank you, Mr. Holt, for making your assistants, Mr. Scott and Mr. Walton, available to speak to us.

HOLT (blandly)  
Think nothing of it.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Scott and Mr. Walton showed us where you store the key to your motorcar's controls.

HOLT  
I presume you mean the Abelfort wall sculpture near my downstairs library. I don't "store the key" on that wall sculpture. Usually I store it on my person or in a secret place in my bedroom. That sculpture is simply a temporary and convenient place for the key when I am unable to give the key personally to Steven or Edward.

MURDOCH  
Would it be correct to say that anyone who knew the key was there could take the motorcar, or could take the key to have it copied?

HOLT  
That isn't what happened.

MURDOCH  
Why do you say that?

HOLT (a little boastful)  
As for copying the key, that would be impossible to do. The key is not of a standard design, but my own creation. I do not believe conventional copying methods would work.

(HOLT reaches into a pocket and produces a key, which he hands to MURDOCH. The key does not look like an ordinary key. It seems to be shaped generally like a corkscrew, and has protuberances at odd angles. MURDOCH admires the key; he has never seen anything like it.)

HOLT  
Tell me, Detective, how would you copy a key like that?

MURDOCH (impressed)  
I quite agree, Mr. Holt, that this is a key that would be difficult to copy! Even an experienced locksmith would probably be at a loss!

(MURDOCH hands the key back to HOLT, who pockets it.)

MURDOCH  
You yourself have copies though, in case you lose your key?

HOLT  
I do, but those keys were specially made, and they are always secured in a secret place. I have never had cause to take them out.

MURDOCH  
But someone could have taken the key from the wall sculpture, and used the motorcar without your knowledge.

HOLT  
No. Rupert got killed, supposedly with my motorcar—

ROLFE (interrupting)  
We do not admit that Rupert's death was caused by Mr. Holt's motorcar!

HOLT  
(to ROLFE) That's right, we most certainly don't; and that is why I said, "supposedly!" (to MURDOCH) Anyway, the death occurred on Monday night or early Tuesday morning, correct? My key was not on the wall sculpture at that time. It was in a secret place.

MURDOCH  
Where?

HOLT (deliberately)  
A secret place.

(MURDOCH looks like he's going to press the issue, but HOLT continues.)

HOLT  
I don't tell anyone where the secret place is. Not you, not Edward, not Steven, no one.

ROLFE  
What Mr. Holt means is—

BRACKENREID (interrupting)  
What Mr. Holt means is, that he has just incriminated himself by saying he was the only person with access to the key at the time of the murder!

ROLFE  
No! That's not—

MURDOCH (interrupting)  
That is not what Mr. Holt is saying at all!

(ROLFE is surprised that MURDOCH seems to be his ally, and BRACKENREID is momentarily put off at being contradicted by MURDOCH.)

ROLFE  
You're right, it's not!

MURDOCH  
Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Holt, but you were merely explaining how you knew that the key was not in the wall sculpture on Monday night.

HOLT  
That is right.

MURDOCH  
Before that night, when was the key last in the wall sculpture, Mr. Holt? Was it Saturday evening? Sunday morning? Monday afternoon? When?

HOLT  
I can't remem— Well, it was— wait a minute.

(HOLT thinks.)

HOLT  
I gave the key to Edward on Monday afternoon. But I didn't put it in the wall sculpture; I gave it to Edward personally.

MURDOCH (surprised)  
What? Are you saying that, just a few hours before Mr. Rupert is struck and killed, you gave your motorcar key to Edward Walton?

HOLT  
Yes.

MURDOCH (quickly)  
When we spoke to Mr. Walton, he indicated that he knew Mr. Rupert.

HOLT  
Well, yes, he did, in a way. I used Edward to deliver the blackmail money to Rupert. He knew what Rupert looked like, and where to find him.

MURDOCH  
Did you ever use Mr. Scott for that purpose?

HOLT  
No! Steven never made any deliveries of payments. In fact, Steven never even knew I was being blackmailed. (sheepish) I felt, the fewer people who knew, the better.

MURDOCH  
So Mr. Walton had your key that afternoon, and he could recognize Mr. Rupert—

HOLT (interrupting)  
But Edward gave the key back to me a couple of minutes later! He gave it back! (takes a breath) You see, Edward asked me for the key so that he could go to the train station, to bring a guest to the house; shortly thereafter, Edward discovered that the guest's travel plans had changed. And Edward promptly returned the key to me.

MURDOCH  
You're certain that Mr. Walton returned to you the actual key, and not a convincing copy?

HOLT  
It was the real key. I used that very key to unlock the controls in order to take the motorcar to Easterbrook's for repairs.

MURDOCH  
How long was the key in Edward's possession?

HOLT (shrugging)  
Only a few minutes.

(CUT TO: INTERROGATION ROOM. WALTON is now in the hot seat, with MURDOCH and BRACKENREID sit opposite. CRABTREE is now present, sitting further away.)

MURDOCH  
Mr. Walton, I understand you got the key to Mr. Holt's motorcar just a few hours before Mr. Rupert died.

WALTON (slowly)  
No, I didn't. May I ask where you heard such a thing?

MURDOCH  
From Mr. Holt.

WALTON (remembering)  
Oh, that!

MURDOCH  
Yes, "that." You failed to mention it to me the last time we spoke.

WALTON  
I thought you were interested in when I operated the motorcar. I didn't operate it on Monday. Let me set you straight. At about two o'clock Monday afternoon, I asked Mr. Holt for the key, so that I could meet a Mr. Harrison at the train station. Then I checked Mr. Holt's agenda, to see what time Mr. Harrison was scheduled to arrive. I discovered that Mr. Harrison's travel plans had changed, and that he had decided to travel at a later time. I explained it all to Mr. Holt, and returned his key to him. That is all there is to it. I never operated the motorcar on Monday.

MURDOCH  
How long did you hold the key on Monday?

WALTON  
Not very long. Certainly no more than five minutes.

MURDOCH  
Did you go out to the motorcar before returning the key to Mr. Holt?

(WALTON is shocked, and quickly becomes angry.)

WALTON  
I do not care much for the insinuation in your question, sir!

MURDOCH (surprised)  
What insinuation?

WALTON  
That I took the motorcar that night to kill Rupert!

MURDOCH  
You deny doing that?

WALTON  
I do! Moreover, I gave you the names of three witnesses who can account for my presence that night! Have you talked to them?

(CRABTREE clears his throat. Attention turns to CRABTREE.)

CRABTREE  
(to WALTON) I spoke to the men you named. (to MURDOCH and BRACKENREID) All three witnesses verified that they were with Mr. Walton on the evening in question. I, uh, even found two additional witnesses who would attest to the same thing.

WALTON  
There! You see?

(MURDOCH nods, and seems to be satisfied with CRABTREE's report.)

MURDOCH  
When we first talked, Mr. Walton, I asked you whether you knew Mr. Rupert. You said you knew who he IS, then you corrected yourself, and said you knew who he WAS.

WALTON  
Yes—?

MURDOCH  
In other words, when we first spoke, you knew that Mr. Rupert had been killed. Yet his death had not yet been reported in the newspapers.

WALTON  
Well, that's easily explained; I believe I can set you straight. I was with Mr. Holt when he was informed by the police of Rupert's death.

MURDOCH (slowly)  
Actually, Mr. Walton, I was the policeman who first spoke to Mr. Holt by telephone. I told him only that we wanted to question him, in person, in connection with a very important criminal investigation. I did not mention that the investigation involved homicide; I did not say that anyone was dead. And I did not mention Mr. Rupert's name.

(WALTON seems puzzled, then ponders and holds up a hand, as if he were trying to remember what happened.)

WALTON (slowly)  
Let me think about this for a moment. (pause) This should straighten everything out: the police— that is, you— telephoned Mr. Holt. I was with Mr. Holt when that happened. Mr. Holt promptly telephoned his lawyer, Mr. Rolfe, and then he had me telephone an acquaintance so that Mr. Holt and Mr. Rolfe could get transportation to and from the station house. The matter seemed very serious, so at some point, I asked Mr. Holt what had happened, and he told me that Rupert had been killed.

BRACKENREID  
That's interesting. We know that Murdoch did not tell Holt about Rupert.

MURDOCH  
So if Mr. Holt knew of Mr. Rupert's death, he may have known because he was the person responsible for it.

BRACKENREID (with relish)  
Or maybe, just maybe, there was another person responsible for Rupert's death, who knew: THE LAWYER! Maybe Rolfe told Holt, and then maybe Holt told you!

WALTON  
I— I don't know. I don't remember.

(CUT TO: BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID is pacing while MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand.)

BRACKENREID (enjoying himself)  
We're going to arrest Rolfe. We are going to march into his law office and take him out in chains.

MURDOCH (diplomatically)  
It is an appealing proposition, sir, but wouldn't we need more evidence? Evidence of motive? Evidence of him having access to the motorcar?

BRACKENREID  
Evidence? I ask you, Murdoch, which one of the people we've talked to has been the least cooperative? Which of all the people we've talked to has tried to impede our investigation the most?

MURDOCH  
Mr. Rolfe, but—

BRACKENREID  
Exactly. And I am going to be the one who puts the manacles on him, myself!

MURDOCH (trying to talk sense)  
But Mr. Rolfe is just doing his job. He is just trying to protect the interests of his client. Sir, if we go around arresting every lawyer that questions our investigations—

BRACKENREID  
Arrest every lawyer!

(The thought of arresting all lawyers has some appeal to BRACKENREID, but he realizes that doing so is impractical and that MURDOCH is making some sense. BRACKENREID softens.)

MURDOCH  
Sir, let me impress upon you in the strongest way that we do not have enough evidence to arrest Mr. Rolfe at this time!

(BRACKENREID nods, reluctantly agreeing.)

MURDOCH  
As things stand, sir, we do have a contradiction in the evidence. When we spoke to Mr. Holt, Mr. Rupert's death was not public knowledge; and Mr. Holt told us he did not know that Mr. Rupert was dead. He acted quite shocked when he heard the news.

BRACKENREID  
Yes, and maybe that's what he was doing: acting.

MURDOCH  
According to Mr. Walton, Mr. Holt did know that Mr. Rupert was dead, before coming to talk to us, and before that information was released to the public.

BRACKENREID  
One of them is lying. Holt or Walton.

MURDOCH  
From the look of it, Mr. Walton has an alibi and no motive—

BRACKENREID  
— And Holt has a motive and no alibi.

MURDOCH  
Yes. The more we learn, the more the evidence seems to point squarely to Mr. Holt. If he is guilty, though— (pause)— I wonder why he is being so cooperative with us?

(BRACKENREID wonders the same thing. FADE OUT.)


	4. ACT 4

ACT IV

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOT OF HOLT ESTATE, daytime. In front of the estate is a fancy motorcar. CUT TO: More intimate shot of the motorcar, being examined by MURDOCH, with BRACKENREID, HOLT, ROLFE, SCOTT and CRABTREE in attendance.)

MURDOCH  
You say, Mr. Holt, that this is a Packard?

HOLT  
Yes. I have had it modified in many ways, and the ornamental features are my own, but it originally was a Packard. (amused) It doesn't look much like a Packard, does it? The controls are sure different from those of a Packard, I can tell you that. My design.

(MURDOCH steals a glance at the front of the motorcar. There is no damage, but MURDOCH observes that a metal component has a distinctive decorative ridge, exactly like the piece of metal found on the body of the victim.)

MURDOCH  
And do you usually store it here, in front of your house?

HOLT  
Yes, if the weather is good; otherwise, I store it in a shed in the back.

MURDOCH  
Where was the motorcar stored last Monday?

HOLT (thinking)  
In the shed. I believe rain was possible on Sunday or Monday.

MURDOCH  
Would you be so kind as to show me how you unlock the controls?

HOLT  
Of course.

(HOLT demonstrates as he talks; he is proud of what he has created.)

HOLT  
The system you are about to see is my own design. As you can see, this metal bar is placed through the steering mechanism. With the bar in place, the wheel can be turned a few degrees, but not very far. It is impossible to operate this vehicle with this bar in place. Engine controls are under this solid metal panel. (producing a key) This key fits into this lock—

(HOLT inserts his key into an unusual lock, and twists the key. The panel pops open, and HOLT removes his key. BRACKENREID is impressed.)

HOLT  
— And it releases both the bar, and the panel. Swing the panel down, and this allows you access to the controls, and it also allows you to slide the bar out, like this. Then the motorcar may be operated. I typically place the bar next to my seat, here.

(HOLT puts the bar next to the seat, then pushes a button and the motorcar starts. The engine is rather quiet. BRACKENREID again is impressed.)

HOLT  
The self-starting feature is of my own design, as are the engine noise-muffling features!

(HOLT pulls a slide-out knob and the engine turns off. HOLT pushes the knob back in, and then demonstrates re-securing the motorcar.)

HOLT  
To secure the controls once again, you slide the bar back in its place, swing the metal panel back in its place, make sure the bar is engaged with the panel, and then push the panel closed. The panel locks by itself. The motorcar can no longer be operated.

BRACKENREID  
Very clever.

HOLT  
Without sounding immodest, I think it is clever, yes. My motorcar includes at least a dozen features found on no other motorcar in the world. This motorcar may well be one of the most valuable vehicles in the world, and I have no intention that it will ever be stolen. I do not believe that it CAN be stolen. And the controls are such that, even if it were to be stolen, a thief would probably not know how to operate it!

(MURDOCH begins walking around the motorcar, as if admiring it.)

ROLFE (proudly)  
Mr. Holt has applied for patents on his many innovations.

MURDOCH  
Indeed? I am curious, Mr. Rolfe, did you ever have occasion to operate this motorcar yourself?

(ROLFE becomes uncomfortable. BRACKENREID is attentive; HOLT is amused. While ROLFE answers, MURDOCH notices the same decorative ridge on metal components on the rear of the motorcar.)

ROLFE  
Mr. Holt finds it amusing, but I have never operated a motorcar, and I hope I never will. They are too complicated, and an experienced horse is more reliable.

HOLT  
And I have to keep reminding Mr. Rolfe that it is now the Twentieth Century!

MURDOCH  
I take it, then, that you have never operated Mr. Holt's motorcar; is that right, Mr. Rolfe?

ROLFE (a bit abashed)  
Correct.

(MURDOCH stops by the side of the motorcar and admires it. CUT TO: EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, daytime. CUT TO: INTERIOR STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, near entryway and constables' area. MURDOCH, BRACKENREID and CRABTREE have just returned to the station house. BRACKENREID quickly goes to his office, MURDOCH heads to his office, and CRABTREE heads to his desk. As MURDOCH enters his office, he stops and thinks for a moment. He pantomimes inserting an imaginary key and twisting it, then opening an imaginary panel removing the imaginary anti-theft features of the motorcar. An idea occurs to MURDOCH, who leaves his office and goes to CRABTREE's desk.)

MURDOCH  
George, would you please see whether you can locate Mr. Walton, and have him come down to the station house?

CRABTREE (seriously dreading)  
Sir, we just got back from Mr. Holt's estate. Are you asking me to go all the way back and get Mr. Walton?

MURDOCH  
As I recall, Mr. Walton is "off duty" today. Mr. Scott is acting as personal assistant to Mr. Holt today.

(CRABTREE remembers, and is greatly relieved.)

MURDOCH  
Do you believe you could reach Mr. Walton by telephone?

CRABTREE  
I can try, sir.

(MURDOCH seems momentarily lost in thought. As he checks his notebook for the telephone number, CRABTREE has one more comment.)

CRABTREE  
Sir, I've been thinking about what Mr. Holt showed us, and it seems to me that, IF his motorcar was used to kill Mr. Rupert—

MURDOCH  
Mr. Holt's motorcar WAS used to kill Mr. Rupert, George. That motorcar may be the most expensive murder weapon in Canadian history.

CRABTREE  
What? How do we know that this was the vehicle?

MURDOCH  
The metal guards on the front of Mr. Holt's vehicle have a special decorative design. A piece of metal having that very same design was found snagged on the clothing covering Mr. Rupert's body. Furthermore, Mr. Holt admitted to us that he created the ornamental features on the vehicle, suggesting that his is the only vehicle in the world that has them. Add to that the fact that no other motorcars in Toronto have been reported as having the kind of damage that Mr. Holt's motorcar had. The evidence seems to be quite clear that Mr. Holt's motorcar was the murder weapon that killed Mr. Rupert.

CRABTREE  
Well, in that case, doesn't it mean that Mr. Holt almost certainly is the killer? I mean, if Mr. Holt's motorcar was the murder weapon, and if the motorcar CANNOT be stolen, and only Mr. Holt has the key, then doesn't it follow that Mr. Holt MUST be guilty?

(MURDOCH seems to agree with CRABTREE's points, but does not endorse them.)

MURDOCH  
Hmm.

CRABTREE  
And considering that the ONLY person who might have a motive is Mr. Holt, does that not settle it: he is the guilty man?

MURDOCH  
Possibly. (pause) Or possibly not. I think Inspector Brackenreid would agree with you, George, that the evidence points most strongly toward Mr. Holt. Yet it does seem strange to me that Mr. Holt keeps trying to convince us that his motorcar was not involved, even though it clearly WAS involved. (pursing lips) See whether you can get Mr. Walton to pay us a visit.

CRABTREE (confused)  
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH  
And after that, George— I'm sorry to have to say this—

(From MURDOCH's tone, CRABTREE knows the request is going to be burdensome, and CRABTREE's face falls. CUT TO: INTERROGATION ROOM, with WALTON in the hot seat, and MURDOCH present. BRACKENREID and CRABTREE are absent.)

MURDOCH  
Thank you for coming in on your day off, Mr. Walton.

WALTON  
Of course. Let's get this over with.

MURDOCH  
You knew Mr. Rupert, didn't you?

WALTON  
Not intimately.

MURDOCH  
You knew what he looked like.

WALTON  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
You knew in what part of Toronto he lived.

WALTON (uncomfortably)  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
You knew how to find him.

WALTON (uncomfortably)  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
You knew where he would be on certain days at certain times.

WALTON  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
You knew he frequented a public house on Monday nights.

WALTON (uneasy)  
Yes. So?

MURDOCH  
And on the night Mr. Rupert died, you knew it was his practice to have a drink at this public house before walking home?

WALTON (uncomfortably)  
Yes, but I do not see where this questioning is going. I did not see Rupert on the night he died. I have witnesses who will swear to that.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Walton, let me be clear about one thing. I KNOW that you did not operate the motorcar that struck Mr. Rupert and killed him.

WALTON (relieved)  
Thank heavens.

MURDOCH  
But I do know that it was Mr. Holt's motorcar that struck Mr. Rupert and killed him. And I do know that Mr. Holt held the key that night. And I further know that Mr. Holt had a reason to want Mr. Rupert dead.

(WALTON is no longer relieved, and becomes somewhat frightened)

WALTON  
Are— are you going to charge Mr. Holt with murder?

MURDOCH  
The evidence would support such charges. Moreover, my superior, Inspector Brackenreid, thinks the evidence of Mr. Holt's guilt is quite clear, and I expect he may want me to lay charges. And unfortunately, it would mean that the damaging photographs that Mr. Holt wanted to keep secret would become available to the public.

WALTON  
But— that would ruin Mr. Holt! Even if he is found innocent, as I believe he is, it would ruin him! And it's hardly fair! Rupert couldn't ruin Mr. Holt, but YOU will, by charging him with murder?

MURDOCH  
I am not proposing to ruin Mr. Holt as a matter of greed or enjoyment or sport. If Mr. Holt is indeed guilty of murder, then Mr. Holt should be so charged, and the evidence against him must be made public.

WALTON  
But—

MURDOCH  
You would, of course, have to testify against Mr. Holt at trial.

WALTON (upset)  
But—

MURDOCH  
You find that an upsetting prospect, Mr. Walton?

WALTON  
Yes! I— I'll lose my job, for one thing!

MURDOCH  
Yes, there is that.

(WALTON is greatly disturbed, and does not know what to do or to say. CUT TO: INTERROGATION ROOM, now with SCOTT in the hot seat. MURDOCH and CRABTREE sit opposite SCOTT. BRACKENREID is still absent.)

MURDOCH  
(to CRABTREE) Thank you, George. Once again, I apologize for having you go all the way to Mr. Holt's estate.

CRABTREE  
Quite all right, sir. Mr. Scott was happy to cooperate.

SCOTT  
Yes, Detective, I'll answer any questions you have.

MURDOCH  
All right. Mr. Scott, I should tell you that Mr. Holt has assured us that his motorcar could not be taken by an unauthorized person last Monday night. Further, I have very good reason to believe Mr. Holt's motorcar was indeed operated on Monday night, and was used to strike and kill Mr. Rupert. Further, Mr. Rupert had been blackmailing Mr. Holt, and Mr. Holt clearly had a motive for wanting Mr. Rupert dead.

SCOTT (shocked)  
Good Lord. You are going to charge Mr. Holt!? With murder?

MURDOCH  
Does that possibility distress you, Mr. Scott?

SCOTT (confused)  
Well, no; I mean, yes. It does distress me, yes.

MURDOCH  
Are you saying you'd rather not see justice done?

SCOTT (confused)  
I— I think— Justice should be done, but—

MURDOCH  
But what? Are you worried, Mr. Scott, that if Mr. Holt is put on public trial, and if those blackmail photographs are made public, that he will be ruined?

(SCOTT is now quite rattled and upset.)

SCOTT  
I— But— Mr. Holt is innocent!

MURDOCH  
Some say the evidence suggests otherwise. I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, if murder charges are laid against Mr. Holt, you would likely be out of a job. And you would also be asked to testify against your former employer at his trial.

SCOTT  
No— that's not fair! Mr. Holt would never—!

(SCOTT is greatly disturbed, and does not know what to do or to say. MURDOCH lets SCOTT stew for a few seconds.)

MURDOCH  
I see that the prospect of Mr. Holt being charged with murder is upsetting to you, Mr. Scott. Well, let me set your mind at ease. I am not going to charge Mr. Holt with the murder of Andrew Rupert.

(SCOTT is shocked. MURDOCH looks steadfastly at SCOTT. FADE OUT.)


	5. ACT 5

ACT V

(FADE IN. INTERROGATION ROOM, moments later. SCOTT is still in the chair, very disturbed, with MURDOCH and CRABTREE opposite.)

SCOTT  
What did you say?

MURDOCH  
I said, I agree with you, Mr. Holt is innocent. I will therefore not be charging Mr. Holt with the murder of Andrew Rupert.

SCOTT  
You— you're not? (relieved) Oh, thank goodness!

MURDOCH  
I will, however, be charging you with the murder of Andrew Rupert. I will be charging you, and your accomplice.

(CUT TO: BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID sits at his desk, while MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand. BRACKENREID has his coat off. BRACKENREID is astonished.)

BRACKENREID  
Scott confessed?

MURDOCH  
He did. After I laid it all out for him, he realized the game was up.

CRABTREE  
And then, when Mr. Walton was confronted with Mr. Scott's confession, Mr. Walton confessed as well. They both accuse the other of being the one more criminally responsible.

MURDOCH  
Both Mr. Scott and Mr. Walton have been formally charged with murder.

BRACKENREID  
I was so convinced that Holt was the man who did it, and I thought you were convinced, as well.

MURDOCH  
For a while, I was. Mr. Holt seemed to be the only one who had any motive. And he was the one who controlled the key to the motorcar.

BRACKENREID  
So, you laid it all out for Scott and Walton, and they broke, did they? I think you'd better lay it all out for me, too, Murdoch. Apart from the confessions, what's our case?

MURDOCH  
As you recall, sir, early on we noticed a troubling contradiction in our evidence.

(FLASHBACK to the BRACKENREID'S OFFICE, with MURDOCH and BRACKENREID talking.)

MURDOCH (in flashback)  
As things stand, sir, we do have a contradiction in the evidence. When we spoke to Mr. Holt, Mr. Rupert's death was not public knowledge; and Mr. Holt told us he did not know that Mr. Rupert was dead. He acted quite shocked when he heard the news.

BRACKENREID (in flashback)  
Yes, and maybe that's what he was doing: acting.

MURDOCH (in flashback)  
According to Mr. Walton, Mr. Holt did know that Mr. Rupert was dead, before coming to talk to us, and before that information was released to the public.

BRACKENREID (in flashback)  
One of them is lying. Holt or Walton.

(FLASHBACK ENDS.)

MURDOCH  
It was Mr. Walton who was lying; Mr. Walton knew that Mr. Rupert was dead because he and Mr. Scott had set out to have Mr. Rupert killed, and not because Mr. Holt had told him. At the time, however, it seemed more likely that Mr. Holt was the one who was lying, because Mr. Walton had no known motive, and he had an alibi. Mr. Holt, by contrast, had no alibi but had a substantial motive. No one else seemed to have ANY motive. Yet Mr. Holt himself had suggested a possible motive, though we didn't pay much attention at the time.

(FLASHBACK to the INTERROGATION ROOM, with HOLT in the hot seat, ROLFE next to HOLT, MURDOCH and BRACKENREID opposite.)

HOLT (in flashback)  
If I lose my business, then all of the people who have loyally worked for me all these years would lose their jobs, their livelihoods. Release of those pictures would destroy me, yes; but it would destroy a lot of innocent people as well.

BRACKENREID (sarcastic, in flashback)  
So you paid off a scurvy little blackmailer so that all of these fine, innocent people could keep their jobs, eh? You are quite the humanitarian.

(FLASHBACK ENDS, return to BRACKENREID'S OFFICE.)

MURDOCH  
Two of the people who stood to lose from the exposure of the blackmail were the two personal assistants, Mr. Walton and Mr. Scott. Both had rather well-paying, even luxurious, positions with Mr. Holt. If Mr. Holt were to be ruined, they would be ruined as well. When I mentioned to them that Mr. Holt might be charged with murder, and if he were so charged, the damaging photographs would be public, both men showed how distressed they would be at losing their jobs.

BRACKENREID  
Wait a minute. I thought only Walton knew about the blackmail. Scott didn't know about the blackmail.

MURDOCH  
He didn't, at least at first. Mr. Walton was concerned that Mr. Rupert, even though he supposedly didn't have the damaging photographs anymore, nevertheless might try to blackmail Mr. Holt again, by threatening to talk to reporters. Mr. Walton thought the only way to end this threat was to have Mr. Rupert killed, and make his death look like an accident.

BRACKENREID  
So Walton told Scott of his plan, and the two of them conspired.

MURDOCH  
Yes. Mr. Walton told Mr. Scott about Mr. Rupert, what he looked like, and his patterns of conduct. Mr. Walton spent the evening with friends, to have an alibi. It was Mr. Scott who drove over Mr. Rupert with the motorcar that night, killing him.

BRACKENREID  
I'm still not seeing it. How'd they get the key to the motorcar? I thought Holt held onto it that night.

MURDOCH  
He did. When Mr. Holt showed me his system for preventing theft, however, I noticed something odd.

(FLASHBACK TO: HOLT ESTATE, the motorcar out front, with MURDOCH, BRACKENREID, HOLT, ROLFE, SCOTT and CRABTREE present.)

HOLT (in flashback)  
This key fits into this lock, and it releases both the bar, and the panel. Swing the panel down, and this allows you access to the controls, and it also allows you to slide the bar out, like this. Then the motorcar may be operated.

(CUT TO: same scene in flashback, a few moments later.)

HOLT (in flashback)  
To secure the controls once again, you slide the bar back in its place, swing the metal panel back in its place, make sure the bar is engaged with the panel, and then push the panel closed. The panel locks by itself.

HOLT (in flashback, echoing)  
The panel locks by itself.

(FLASHBACK ENDS. Return to BRACKENREID'S OFFICE.)

MURDOCH  
So, under Mr. Holt's unique system that he designed, once the controls were unlocked, they would remain unlocked. The key was not needed in order to operate the motorcar, nor was it needed to re-lock the controls. This explained a strange thing that Mr. Walton had said earlier, when I asked him about receiving the key from Mr. Holt a few hours before the killing, and returning it to Mr. Holt a few minutes later.

(FLASHBACK TO: INTERROGATION ROOM. WALTON in the hot seat, MURDOCH and BRACKENREID sitting opposite.)

MURDOCH (in flashback)  
Did you go out to the motorcar before returning the key to Mr. Holt?

WALTON (in flashback)  
I do not care much for the insinuation in your question, sir!

MURDOCH (in flashback)  
What insinuation?

WALTON (in flashback)  
That I took the motorcar that night to kill Rupert!

(FLASHBACK ENDS. Return to BRACKENREID'S OFFICE.)

MURDOCH  
Mr. Walton assumed that I knew something that I did not in fact know at the time: that once the motorcar is unlocked, it remains unlocked until re-locked, and no key is needed to re-lock it. Mr. Walton assumed that I was suggesting that he unlocked the motorcar in the afternoon, and then operated the motorcar that night.

BRACKENREID  
But what in fact happened, then, is that Walton DID unlock the motorcar that afternoon, and SCOTT operated the motorcar that night. Walton had told Scott where to find Rupert, and that he would be walking home from a pub.

MURDOCH  
You will recall, sir, that the motorcar was very quiet.

(FLASHBACK TO: HOLT ESTATE, the motorcar out front, with MURDOCH, BRACKENREID, HOLT, ROLFE, SCOTT and CRABTREE present. HOLT pushes a button and the motorcar starts. The engine is quiet; BRACKENREID is impressed.)

HOLT (in flashback)  
The self-starting feature is of my own design, as are the engine noise-muffling features!

(FLASHBACK ENDS. Return to BRACKENREID'S OFFICE.)

BRACKENREID  
Yes, it was quiet! There were noise-muffling features, and they seemed to work.

MURDOCH  
Those noise-muffling features were used in two ways. First, they allowed Mr. Scott to take the motorcar from the Holt estate, and return it later, without alerting Mr. Holt. Second, they allowed Mr. Scott to ram Mr. Rupert with the vehicle, without giving any warning to Mr. Rupert, or alerting any possible witnesses.

BRACKENREID  
So Scott rammed Rupert—

MURDOCH  
Then when Mr. Rupert was on the ground, Mr. Scott drove over him, and then drove over him again to be sure he was dead. Then Mr. Scott quietly returned the vehicle to the Holt estate, and re-locked the controls. There were no witnesses, no murder weapons, no finger marks, no footprints; only a death of a poor drunkard that looked like a possible accident.

BRACKENREID (a bit ashamed)  
I was ready to have you charge Holt with murder! Hell, Murdoch, I was ready to string Holt up, myself! I almost feel like I owe Holt an apology.

MURDOCH  
Or at least some thanks. Shall we, sir—?

(BRACKENREID takes the meaning: he stands and puts on his coat. CUT TO: EXTERIOR OF A NICE HOME, the Holt estate, early evening. CUT TO: INTERIOR OF THE HOME, a sitting room. MURDOCH, BRACKENREID, HOLT and ROLFE are all seated.)

HOLT  
All of my people are loyal, but Steven and Edward were exceptionally so. How do I say this? I do not agree with what they did, but I understand why they did it. Thank you for coming out here to explain it all to me.

BRACKENREID  
Don't mention it. Thank YOU very much for your cooperation in our investigation.

HOLT (uncomfortable)  
There is one question that I have for you gentlemen. (clears his throat) Will I be able to keep those, er, photographs—private?

(MURDOCH and BRACKENREID look at one another, as though they hadn't considered this.)

MURDOCH (carefully)  
I think you should prepare yourself, Mr. Holt, for the possibility that the photographs will become part of the public record. If Mr. Scott and Mr. Walton go on trial, they will be important pieces of evidence in the case against them.

HOLT (anguished)  
I was afraid you might say that. Do you know how much effort I invested trying to keep those photographs secret? How much money I spent? All for nothing. The thing I tried hardest to keep from happening is going to happen. My life, my business, my reputation, all are going to be destroyed.

(MURDOCH and BRACKENREID look at one another, again; they find themselves feeling sorry for HOLT.)

MURDOCH  
Such unpleasantness can result in cases involving blackmail.

HOLT (to ROLFE)  
I am going to have something to drink, and then I am going to bed. Please see these gentlemen out, would you?

ROLFE  
Of course, Jacob. After I show them out, I think I'll join you in a drink.

(HOLT smiles wryly but sadly, and all of the men stand. HOLT unceremoniously leaves. ROLFE gestures politely toward the front door.)

ROLFE  
This way, gentlemen.

(MURDOCH, BRACKENREID and ROLFE head toward the front door. BRACKENREID suddenly stops. ROLFE and MURDOCH see that BRACKENREID has stopped, and they stop as well.)

BRACKENREID (to ROLFE)  
Mr. Rolfe. I think I understand how Mr. Holt feels. When the time is right, perhaps you might convey a few things to him. First, Walton and Scott have already confessed. They may therefore enter a guilty plea and accept sentence without there being a need for a public trial.

ROLFE  
Yes, I realize that. But, confessions or no, they still may choose to make an issue of it, and go public.

BRACKENREID  
Two "exceptionally loyal" employees, making an issue of it? Perhaps they won't, if they have the legal assistance of some capable members of your fine law firm.

(ROLFE is surprised by the compliment.)

BRACKENREID  
And even if they do make an issue of it, publication of those photographs would be within the discretion of the Crown prosecutor. And the Crown prosecutor is going to want Mr. Holt's cooperation, is he not?

ROLFE (impressed)  
He is.

BRACKENREID  
And I expect the Crown prosecutor will find it of considerable importance if Detective Murdoch and I report that Mr. Holt was exceptionally cooperative in the investigation; which is exactly what Detective Murdoch and I intend to report.

(MURDOCH nods in agreement. ROLFE allows himself a small smile; maybe things are not quite as hopeless as they seem.)

BRACKENREID  
Good evening, Mr. Rolfe.

ROLFE  
Good evening, Inspector, Detective.

(ROLFE extends his hand to MURDOCH, and the men shake hands. ROLFE then extends his hand to BRACKENREID, which BRACKENREID takes with a firm, professional grip. FADE OUT.)

THE END


End file.
